1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to the field of automatic staple guns, and more particularly to a wire guide element for positioning a staple in the gun with respect to a wire or cable to be stapled.
2. Description of Related Art
Staple guns are well known hand-held tools adapted to drive staples into a workpiece. Arrow Fastener Company manufactures and sells numerous models of such devices, including the non-powered staple gun sold under the T-50® brand name, and more recently introduced powered models, such as the cordless CT-50™.
It is known to provide a wire guide for a staple gun, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,829, assigned to the Arrow Fastener Company and incorporated herein by reference. A wire guide is an element having a surface that fits around a wire or cable, positioning the staple gun so that the staple is driven reliably over the wire or cable to attach it to the work piece. Surfaces on either side of the wire or cable are typically positioned against the surface to be stapled.
As staple gun technology has advanced, a number of desirable features have been added. An LED positioned near the staple driver and adapted to directly illuminate the surface being stapled is very popular. It is also known to equip staple guns with passive safety features. In the CT 50™ by Arrow Fastener Company, for example, the safety element is a planar vertically oriented element that protrudes from the bottom of the gun in front of the driver. The planar element actuates a switch, so that the gun can fire only when the safety is fully depressed, i.e., when the bottom of the gun is positioned against a surface to be stapled.
Both the LED and safety are advantageously positioned in front of the staple driver, so as not to interfere with the operation of the gun, and especially with the operation of the staple driver. To provide a wire guide in combination with these elements poses a technical challenge because the available space in front of the staple driver is limited.
Thus, one object of the invention is to provide a wire guide for a staple gun in a low profile housing at the front end thereof, that can be retracted by the user and which can be combined with other elements, such as an LED and a safety, in a space-saving manner.